How precision fermentation technology could reduce farm animal numbers and improve welfare at global scale by producing animal proteins without farming animals.
Precision fermentation represents one of the most transformative potential developments for animal welfare. Unlike plant-based meat alternatives that require dietary preference change, precision fermentation produces the actual proteins found in animal products — identical in function and very similar in taste and texture — without any animal farming. If widely adopted, this technology could eliminate the need for billions of farmed animals while delivering products that consumers already recognise and accept. The welfare implications are staggering: a food system in which the animal welfare case for dietary change disappears because the technology has removed the harm from the product itself.